The present invention relates to the field of payroll processing and, more particularly, to a computerized direct payroll processing system that acquires input data from time and attendance and human resource systems to implement immediate, real-time payroll distribution and processing to employees.
Today, most companies with more than a handful of employees use an outside payroll service to assist with payroll processing for their employees. As shown in FIG. 1 (prior art), a company typically employs off-the-shelf human resource (xe2x80x9cHRxe2x80x9d) software packages such as an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system which is customizable for the particular industry and business. The ERP system provides employee information such as employee number, department, pay schedule, pay scale, benefits, etc., which are used in determining the pay for the employee.
The information from the ERP system is typically used in the setup of internal payroll software and in the setup of time and attendance (xe2x80x9cTandAxe2x80x9d) software, such as Master Data or Demographic Data, including addresses, departmental information and rates etc. The payroll software is ultimately used in the transfer of payroll information to the outside payroll service by inputting formatted data from a TandA system.
The TandA software is used for tracking (manually and/or automatically) the time and attendance data of employees to provide a record of when the employee has worked (days and hours), the particular shifts worked, days off, sick days, etc. This information is used for determining employee pay as well.
TandA systems are used to acquire TandA data, typically on a daily basis. The data can be acquired in many different ways such as through punch clocks, computer log-ins and log-outs, badge readers, turnstiles, card swipes, etc. Authorization can be provided to determine whether an employee who has worked certain hours during a certain shift was authorized to do so or may need a superior to authorize deviations from normal working hours or shifts.
Once the TandA information has been gathered and authorized, the TandA software package can be used to calculate gross hours and dollars for each employee. This is typically done for a one-week or two-week period.
The next step is that the gross hours and dollars information is sent through an interface program to the payroll system. The payroll system uses its own proprietary software to calculate net pay for each employee by taking gross pay and subtracting deductions such as taxes (federal, social security, Medicare, state) and any other needed adjustments (401K contributions, pension plan, etc.). The payroll system can be provided in-house or by an outside payroll service, such as ADP. If the system is internal, however, the net pay information must in any event be sent to an outside payroll service. The final net pay information is sent by submitting electronic data to the bank which either provides a check to the employee or directly deposits the payment amount into the employee""s account through direct deposit banking. The payroll service also usually provides the employee with limited payroll information printed on a stub attached to the check or on a separate report.
The above payroll systems are cumbersome and problematic. They require the use of a xe2x80x9cmiddlemanxe2x80x9d payroll service to either send or calculate and send the employee""s net pay data to the bank, which increases costs to the employer. These costs are ultimately passed on to the employees and public. Such systems also take significant amounts of time to acquire, transfer, translate and process all of the data required to determine and distribute net pay to the employee; and employees are therefore forced to wait one or two weeks before even receiving their paychecks.
Another disadvantage of the prior art payroll systems is the use of centralized data processing for calculation of net pay, such as used by ADP. While centralized processing can be beneficial for security reasons in that data is contained within one application, which is typically not the user""s location, it is inflexible and time-consuming. A further disadvantage with centralized processing is that the system cannot add components to the process to co-exist with current business tasks. That is, no new business logic can be added to the system. Finally, the user cannot change the frequency of processing, since this is controlled by ADP.
Accordingly, the present invention overcomes the above disadvantages and problems of prior art payroll systems and provides new advantages to the employer and employees by addressing the aforementioned problems and providing payroll processing which occurs in real-time, immediately upon completion of the employee""s shift or work segment. With the present invention, the third party outside payroll service model is eliminated which provides numerous benefits to the company, employees and to the bank.
One aspect of the present invention provides a computer-implemented method for automatically paying employees net pay immediately upon completion of a work segment. The method includes providing an employee data computer system, a banking computer system and a payroll processing computer system, each interconnected via a computer network. According to this method, time and attendance information is acquired in real-time by the employee data computer system from each employee, including shift completion information indicative of the completion of at least one work segment. Human resource information about each employee is inputted into the employee data computer including pay amount information and pay deduction information for each employee.
Shift completion information, pay amount information and pay deduction information is provided to the payroll processing computer system via the computer network. The method then calculates, by the payroll processing computer system, net work segment pay for each work segment completed by the employee, in real-time and immediately upon entry of the shift completion information, by determining (i) gross work segment pay based on the shift completion information and pay amount information and (ii) the net work segment pay by applying the pay deduction information to the gross work segment pay. Finally, data indicative of the net work segment pay is provided to the banking computer system via the computer network upon the completion net work segment pay calculation step to provide the employee with immediate access to the calculated net work segment pay, preferably via direct deposit to the employee""s bank account.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a computer-implemented system for automatically paying employees net pay immediately upon completion of a work segment. The system includes an employee data client computer system including at least one time and attendance software object and at least one human resource software object, at least one input terminal connected to the employee data client computer system for acquiring in real-time time and attendance information from each employee including shift completion information indicative of the completion of at least one work segment, and at least one input terminal connected to the employee data client computer system for inputting human resource information about each employee including pay amount information and pay deduction information for each employee. The time and attendance software object comprises time and attendance logic operative to automatically modify the shift completion information under predetermined conditions, and the human resource software object comprises human resource logic operative to automatically modify the pay amount information under predetermined conditions.
The system further includes a payroll client computer with at least one payroll software object comprising net pay calculation logic for computing net work segment pay and a payroll application server computer connected to the employee data client computer system and the payroll client computer via the Internet using a programming language-neutral communications protocol. A computer storage device is also provided in communication with the payroll application server computer for storing the shift completion information, pay amount information, pay deduction information and net work segment pay. The system further includes a banking client computer in communication with the computer storage device.
The payroll software object is operative to calculate, using the net pay calculation logic, net work segment pay for each work segment completed by the employee, in real-time and immediately upon entry of the shift completion information, by determining (i) gross work segment pay based on the shift completion information and the pay amount information and (ii) the net work segment pay by applying the pay deduction information to the gross work segment pay. Additionally, the banking client computer is operative to automatically receive data indicative of the net work segment pay upon completion of the net work segment pay calculation to provide the employee with immediate access to the calculated net work segment pay, preferably via directly depositing the net work segment pay to the employee""s bank account.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the system includes a third party client computer connected to the payroll application server via the Internet using a programming language-neutral communications protocol, and includes a third party deduction calculation software object comprising deduction logic operative to calculate additional deductions, to be included with the pay deduction information, in proportion to the gross work segment pay. Preferably, the deduction logic is operative to calculate tax deductions from the gross work segment pay in amounts corresponding to the duration of the completed work segment.
The software objects desirably comprise JavaBeans and the programming language-neutral communications protocol comprises CORBA. Further, each employee is preferably provided with on-line access to securely log onto a website associated with the banking computer system to check on and verify the provision of the net work segment pay to the employee""s bank account.
Another preferred aspect of the present invention provides a computer-implemented system for automatically paying employees net pay immediately upon completion of a work segment. The system comprises an employee data computer system, a banking computer system and a payroll processing computer system, and each of the computer systems are interconnected via a computer network. Also provided is at least one input terminal connected to the employee data computer system for acquiring in real-time time and attendance information from each employee including shift completion information indicative of the completion of at least one work segment, and at least one data terminal connected to the human resource computer system for inputting human resource information about each employee including pay amount information and pay deduction information for each employee. The payroll processing computer system includes calculation logic for calculating net work segment pay for each work segment completed by the employee, in real-time and immediately upon entry of the shift completion information, by determining (i) gross work segment pay based on the shift completion information and the pay amount information and (ii) the net work segment pay by applying the pay deduction information to the gross work segment pay. Finally, the banking computer system is operative to receive data indicative of the net work segment pay upon the net work segment pay calculation to provide the employee with immediate access to the calculated net work segment pay, preferably via direct deposit to the employee""s bank account.
In a preferred arrangement, the shift completion information includes information approving the completion of the work segment. Further, the employee data computer system can comprise both a time and attendance computer system and a human resources computer system. The payroll processing computer system can also comprise two or more payroll computers and the net work segment pay calculation can be performed in part on each of the payroll computers.
In another preferred aspect, a computer-implemented system for automatically paying employees net pay upon completion of a work segment is provided, and includes: a multi-tiered computer network comprising at least a client and application tier interfacing with one or more client and application cartridges to permit communications among the cartridges over a common communications bus; a human resource computer system including an ERP program operative to store and manage employee payroll characteristics including pay amount information and pay deduction information, the ERP program including at least one ERP application cartridge interfacing with the application tier; a time and attendance computer system connected to the computer network for acquiring in real-time time and attendance information from each employee, including shift completion information indicative of the completion of at least one work segment, the TandA computer system including at least one time and attendance application cartridge interfacing with the application tier; and a banking computer system connected to the computer network including at least one payment application cartridge operative to calculate network segment pay for each work segment completed by the employee, in real-time and immediately upon entry of the shift completion information by the employee, by determining (i) gross work segment pay based on the shift completion information and (ii) the network segment pay by applying the pay deduction information to the gross work segment pay.
These aspects and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments set forth below, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.